Antiquity in Cinema: The First Twenty Years (1897-1916)

Nero at Baiae (Jan Styka c. 1900)

Antiquity in Cinema: The First Twenty Years (1897-1916). Screenings & Workshop, 30th June and 1st July 2016. Il Cinema Ritrovato, Bologna 2016.

The Cinema Ritrovato festival continues its exploration of the irresistible fascination of Antiquity. This time not through the grand Italian features Quo Vadis? (1913) and Cabiria (1914), but through the beautiful French experiments that led to them and the ambitious and celebrated American ‘colossal’ Intolerance (1916) that drew from them. We will screen myth and history, Babylon, Greece and Rome, eroticism and death, and a cinematic world full of music, dance and art. Our workshop will ask why is the first ever antiquity film from 1897 about Nero, and why did the wicked emperor appear so often in early cinema? Why does antiquity become so spectacular and how does Intolerance mark a watershed in representations of the past? Do different nations produce different antiquities and how does cinema make antiquity modern? We would be delighted if you would join us in our discussions. NB certain films were purposefully restored for this workshop, such as the oldest film adaptation of Sienkiewicz’ novel Quo Vadis?